Religious Liberty, Freedom to Believe

During the week of the National Prayer Breakfast, I hosted a dinner for Buckner friends on Capitol Hill and the guests we invited to the breakfast. Two esteemed friends joined us for dinner and spoke to the group. The first was my good friend, Stan Holmes. He was so kind to invite us to the National Prayer Breakfast. His vision for the breakfast is to gather friends of various faiths and countries as well as leaders from across the United States to meet, pray, and begin friendships. It is all done in the Spirit of Jesus of Nazareth. This National Prayer Breakfast is truly a life-changing experience.

Our second guest was Dr. Chris Seiple, President for the Institute of Global Engagement www.globalengage.org, a research, education and diplomatic institution charged with encouraging sustainable religious freedom worldwide. He is a former US Marine serving as an Infantry Officer, graduate of Stanford University, the Naval Post Graduate School, and the Fletcher School for Law and Diplomacy. Yet, the most striking characteristic of Chris, that I observed, is his ability to clearly and concisely articulate a biblical worldview and theological framework for his work. He is the founder of the Review of Faith and International Affairs. He is the author of 2 books and has been featured on BBC, MSNBC, Fox, Saudi TV, and CNN.

It is difficult to summarize the core of his message in this blog but let me share some of his sound bites:

– We should not ask what Jesus would do but what he is doing.
– Relationships reveal strategy.
– Para, as in Para-Church, is not in the Bible, but the word Church is.
– Scholarship changes the Discourse.
– Choose God back.
– Jesus chose God back and adopted us.
– God redeems poor choices.
– Faith-integrated not Faith-based.
– Great Commission focused on converts becomes idolatry.
– Make disciples not coverts.
– Adoption is about all God’s children.

Our conversation was invigorating, insightful, and inspiring. Seiple connects religious liberty to national security. Buckner serves as an agent of redemption; working with God to redeem poor choices, neglected, abused, and abandoned children; restoring families, and shining hope.

After this dinner gathering and conversation, I could not imagine a National Prayer Breakfast that could top this experience. Stay tuned for the next blog to read about what happened next.